8 Former Red Hot Chili Pepper Guitarists

Bet you didn’t know that The Red Hot Chili Peppers have had a total of eight known guitarists in their band since forming in 1983.

While a couple of them didn’t actually appear on any albums, RHCP has had some stellar guitarists in the past- at least one of which might surprise you if you haven’t been keeping up. Check out more about them here.

1. Hillel Slovak

As the very first guitarist to help found and perform in RHCP, Slovak has a special place in the Chili Peppers’ hearts.

Slovak passed away at age 26, after contributing his unique playing style to RHCP’s early albums. The band has done several tributes to their first guitar player since.

2. Jack Sherman

Jack Sherman performed very, very briefly with RHCP to replace Slovak but helped co-composed songs on both the debut album and Freaky Styley. In 2012, Sherman spoke out against the band for excluding him from their induction into the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame.

Image Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Sherman

3. DeWayne McKnight

McKnight’s tenure with RHCP was even briefer than Sherman’s. A master of funk, McKnight is best known for his membership with the Parliament-Funkadelic up until 2008.

Image Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeWayne_McKnight

4. John Frusciante

John Frusciante is arguably the best-known guitarist of RHCP. He first joined the band following Slovak’s passing in 1988, but would leave several times to work on his own solo work. He is currently not in the band.

Image Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Frusciante

Frusciante is so well known because he is featured on some of the band’s most successful albums, most notably the two that put them on the map: Mother’s Milk & Blood Sugar Sex Magik. A one-two punch, if you will. And after returning to the band in 1998, Frusciante helped the band deliver Californication, By The Way, and Stadium Arcadium- three very well received albums that are responsible for RHCP being a fixture in music.

5. Arik Marshall

Another brief one, Marshall performed several shows and in a couple music videos with RHCP after Frusciante left the band for the first time after being disheartened by the band’s massive success. He was passed on to become a permanent replacement.

Image Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arik_Marshall

6. Jesse Tobias

Tobias worked with RHCP even briefer than Marshall, and there’s not much to say about his contributions.

After Tobias, the band decided to hire Dave Navarro, who had already made a name for himself through Jane’s Addiction.

After years of setbacks, the band produced and released One Hot Minute together. Unfortunately, it became clear early on that Navarro wasn’t a right fit for the group as he didn’t like the element of funk in their music as well as wasn’t into jamming like the rest of the group.

8. Josh Klinghoffer

Klinghoffer is the current guitarist for RHCP. He has contributed to two of the band’s most recent albums: I’m With You and soon-to-be-released The Getway.